


Unbreak My Heart New

by Kufikiria



Series: It's Always Been You [18]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Breaking Up & Making Up, Drunken Confessions, F/M, Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Post-Break Up, Romance, same story told through different povs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-08-13 23:07:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20182222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kufikiria/pseuds/Kufikiria
Summary: He knows these weekends away are supposed to be void of any spouses or romantic partners of any kind, and yet Jake can’t help but think about his past (failed) relationships.First, there was Amy. Amazing, smart, funny, beautiful, best friend Amy. The reason why he’s stuck in such meandering thoughts right now, as she’s also the reason why he so suddenly left the party earlier, when she downed her fourth drink and started to get close to everyone. He was too afraid of how he might react if she were to get the sudden idea of getting close to him.It might have been some time now since they parted ways, but still.(Or, Jake and Amy have a post-breakup drunken conversation during the annual Beach House getaway. Each chapter is the same scene told from a different POV.)





	1. Jake Peralta

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kamelea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamelea/gifts).

> Omg this fic has come SO FAR, I can’t believe I actually finished it lol. It first started with a simple idea and three sentences I wrote out of nowhere, sure I would never write more. But then @kamelea happened. With her wonderful ideas, she turned what was just a small concept into this thing. Most of the plot ideas are hers – and she literally wrote the ending (aka. the most interesting part haha). This is why I want to dedicate it to her, for letting me rant about it for the past two days, for giving me her thoughts throughout the whole writing process, because she’s the best hype-woman ever but mostly because she’s a truly amazing person with whom I absolutely adore to talk. Thank you for everything you do, once again <3
> 
> UPDATE: it seems I can’t get enough of this story finally, so it’ll have 2 more (shorter, I think) chapters, telling the same story but from different POVs (and thus maybe some new backstory details added to it as well). Next one should be Amy’s, then the next – and last – should be Charles’ (featuring Rosa).

Jake Peralta doesn’t get sad-drunk.

If anything, when it comes to partying, he is the one to lift up the mood with his crazy games and his weird but somehow delicious alcoholic mixes. He tends to be the last man standing – more than once did he find himself sharing one last beer with Gina (or Amy, back _then_) as the two of them remember stories about their younger years in the intimacy of the wee hours of the night while everyone else has long gone to sleep.

He who’s already very energetic when sober becomes even more excited after a few drinks – in an almost manic, exhilarating way.

Yet here he is, on one of his favorite weekends of the year, one he’s been waiting for for weeks now, all alone in Charles’ beach house’s hot tub. The rest of his squad seems to be having the time of their lives downstairs – he can hear the muffled sound of some music coming from the party room as well as the occasional loud bursts of laughter and cries of joy.

He can’t tell how long he’s been sitting up here in the quiet of the night, with the moon and stars and a beer for only company and the warm bubbles massaging his body – a much-welcomed contrast to the otherwise very cold winter wind blowing outside – but one thing is certain: he doesn’t feel like joining his friends in their current shenanigans just yet.

Right now, he’d rather dwell in his loneliness.

He knows these weekends away are supposed to be void of any spouses or romantic partners of any kind, and yet Jake can’t help but think about his past (failed) relationships.

First, there was Amy. Amazing, smart, funny, beautiful, _best friend_ Amy. The reason why he’s stuck in such meandering thoughts right now, as she’s also the reason why he so suddenly left the party earlier, when she downed her fourth drink and started to get close to everyone. He was too afraid of how he might react if she were to get the sudden idea of getting close to _him_.

It might have been some time now since they parted ways, but still.

It came from some ‘mutual agreement’ after dating for a little while – they finally gave their story a chance after months of pining and missing out on each other only to come to the realization that it was affecting them too much. They worked better as colleagues.

As (best) _friends_.

He’s moved on, now. Or at least he thought so. At least he did so for a while.

When then came Valerie. A sexy name for a just as sexy and awesome girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend, he should call her now. The breakup wasn’t mutual, this time. Jake endured it rather than agreed to it. She sat him down a few weeks ago – they were about four months into their relationship, back when it happened.

The look in her eyes, the way she sat still with her palms flat on her lap instead of reaching for his own hands told him all he needed to know before she even opened her mouth (with being a cop, he’s become very observant of people’s body language over the years, a useful skill to use in interrogation): this wasn’t going to be some fun and light conversation they were used to have.

And indeed he was right.

“I can’t take this anymore,” she said with a disapproving shake of her head before she told him she couldn’t be with someone who’s ‘incapable of voicing his emotions.’ She’d say the precious _I love you_ to him several times already while he hadn’t been able to say it back once. Not that he didn’t love her – although maybe it was too soon to assure he was in deep, he could feel in his heart he was slowly, yet very willingly, falling for her.

Still though, he didn’t try to contradict her. He didn’t try to hold her back either. He didn’t say the words she needed to hear. He _couldn’t_.

After all, the last time he did, when he blurred it out to Sophia, it ended up with heartbreak too. She ended their relationship as well, no matter what he said or the solutions he tried to come up with to save their relationship.

So Valerie broke up with him – he was sad, of course, but it’s been a few weeks now and he’s over it, even if he’s thinking about her right now. Actually, if he’s thinking about her, it’s because he’s mostly thinking about _Amy_. The one he might not be as over with as he thought he was until then, finally.

He remembers how patient she was with him; how she never pushed anything upon him or complained when she so easily could have, too. How often did they start becoming a little too emotional on a quiet night spent together – never going as far as voicing their love for each other, though (and god knows Jake _did_ love her) – and all he was able to respond was dumb words like ‘noice’ or ‘smort?’

It’s not that he didn’t have anything to say. On the contrary, he had _a lot_ he could have told her at the time – a lot he maybe _should_ have told her that would have made things different for them and their relationship now. But the fear of messing up again from an outburst of emotion was too strong. The fear of _losing her_ was hitting too hard.

So he did what he does best. He answered in a joking manner while he tried to hide the nervousness in his tone as best as he could.

And Amy never blamed him for it.

Maybe it’s because they were friends before becoming lovers. Maybe it’s the fact she knew about his past and fears and broken parts. Or maybe it’s just who she is, the perfect person who knows how to deal with and more importantly _accepts_ his many issues. Sometimes – even more so recently – Jake wonders how he managed to let things go as they did and let Amy go.

It felt so good when he was with her.

He knows the answer, though. He was a coward.

(They both were, to be honest – paralyzed by the fear and growing pressure weighing upon them as things were starting to get too real, afraid of how big the consequences would be if things were to shatter to pieces between them in the future as they were becoming more and more invested in their relationship. Choosing to part on good terms when they could still be friends seemed like the easiest choice at the time.)

Now Jake isn’t sure it was the _best_ choice after all. Maybe they should have tried harder. _Fought_ harder for what they had.

If only he could turn back the clock and be able to tell her then what he’s thinking now on this dark and quiet night, with his mind inebriated enough not to lock these feelings away this time…

The sound of the main door opening then closing suddenly shakes him out of his reverie. He turns around to see who’s come to disturb him, and a smile forms on his face as he recognizes this is none over than the one person he’s been musing about – the one and only Amy Santiago, partially hidden under a huge coat and beanie and looking, as always, utterly adorable – especially with her whole figure surrounded in the glow of the automatic lights that turned on as soon as she put a first step outside.

A rush of warmth, which doesn’t come from the warmth of the hot tub he’s currently sitting in, takes over him as he watches her.

_Yep, he’s definitely screwed._

“Jake?!” Amy recognizes him too, although she has to squeeze her eyes a little to make out his silhouette – as opposed to her, he’s partially hidden in the dark, with the only light surrounding him coming from the tub. She seems a little surprised to realize she’s not alone. “What, uh–… what are you doing here?” her voice is hesitant when she asks.

Jake notices the hand she quickly tries to put under her back; catches sight of the small stick she’s holding between her fingers that she’s trying (and failed) to hide. The sight of it makes him frown: he doesn’t need any confirmation to understand she sneaked out of the party still happening downstairs to smoke a cigarette. Which she only does when she’s stressed out.

And this is clearly not supposed to be a stressful weekend.

“And here I thought somebody had finally noticed I’ve been gone for like, the past half-hour,” he jokes, which makes Amy chuckle. A puff of cold air forms in front of her face as the small laugh escapes her mouth. Jake grins, content – and somewhat relieved – to see that despite everything that happened between them, despite their huge history, it’s still so easy for him to make her laugh.

(He can’t retain the slight pang of pain that takes over his heart too, as he remembers this is what actually signed the beginning of their relationship; the point of no-return of Amy letting him know with her own words she liked him too. _He makes me laugh._)

The amusement is soon replaced with seriousness though when he talks again. “You okay?” He nods in direction of her left hand and the cigarette to emphasize his words. He’s too far away to actually see it, plus they’re hidden under her beanie, but Jake is pretty sure Amy’s ears are turning redder in the beginning of an (embarrassed, probably) blush right now.

“Yeah, I just, uh–… it’s nothing.” She averts her gaze as she speaks.

It’s clear she doesn’t want to dwell on the topic, so he lets it go despite his piquing curiosity at what might have triggered her. She doesn’t owe him any explanation, after all.

She takes a few steps in his direction, until she’s standing in front of him with her hands on the edge of the tub and her eyes staring deep into his, the beautiful brown irises shining in the night.

“Are you?” she asks in the softest, most caring voice.

Jake’s heart flips in his chest. “Yeah.” And he is, _for realz_, when she’s here with him.

(At least part of him is. The other is aching for more, craving for past intimacy – both on a spiritual and physical level – he can’t have anymore. For instance, if they were still together, he could reach for her and grab her by the waist, then kiss her complaint that _you’re getting me all wet_ away. He’d look at her with a smug grin when they’d part and would joke with daring, knowing eyes – ‘_You’re Getting Me All Wet,’ title of your sex tape_.

Needless to say he now tries to avoid as best as he can that kind of banter he used to like so much – even before they started dating – with her.)

Silence falls upon them after that, calm and soothing – not the least awkward. It’s the type of silence they could easily surround themselves with back when they were still together, the type of silence a guy like Jake, who always has something to say and can’t seem to shut up, learned to appreciate, and which took them awhile to find the confidence to let fall upon them again afterwards.

“Oh, you can smoke your cigarette if you feel the need to.” He suddenly remembers why Amy came here in the first place. “I don’t mind.”

“Thanks. But actually, I don’t want to anymore.” Her face lights up with a smile that’s full of sincerity.

A new beat passes, during which she seems to consider something, lips slightly parted as it looks like she wants to say something but then she must change her mind. He catches her body shiver with the cold and she brings her hands to her arms, stroking vividly to warm herself up.

“Wanna come back downstairs?” she offers.

Jake is good here, and doesn’t feel like leaving just yet. He doesn’t want to face his friends’ questions about what he was doing, alone for so long.

But he doesn’t want to leave Amy’s side either. Well, he mostly doesn’t want to not be just the two of them anymore.

“Maybe in a bit,” he tells her, then. “I want to finish my beer first.”

She seems to hesitate again – she probably feels bad about leaving him to drink alone. But then another rush of cold runs down her spine – more than anyone Jake knows how easily cold she can get. (She used to tell him he was a great personal space heater before snuggling further against his side, back when they spent most of their nights together.) It’s probably what makes up her mind.

“Okay. See you, then.” She waves at him and walks towards the closed door. He watches as she presses the door’s knob once, two times without anything happening.

She turns in his direction. “Do you have the key?”

“Nope. Why? The door wasn’t closed when I came in.” Jake frowns.

“It wasn’t when I came in either. But now it is.” He can see the panic of being locked outside, in the _cold_, starting to show on her face before she puts her full attention back on the door. She rings at the bell – several times – but nothing happens. She knocks on the door too, calls her friends’ names. All in vain.

Jake doesn’t want to freak her out more than she already seems to be – a feeling increasing with each new passing second without an answer from the rest of their squad – but he knows nobody’s gonna come for them. Nobody came for _him_ in all the time he spent alone; plus, they can still make out some music coming from downstairs, which means it’s definitely too loud for the others to hear their calls. They must be too invested in whatever game they’re currently playing to notice or care. Maybe they will when they decide to go to sleep.

Which doesn’t seem to be anytime soon.

“I can’t stay out here,” Amy complains, banging on the door one more time.

She’s _fully_ panicking right now. Being still a little drunk probably doesn’t help her thinking straight. _At least they’re not locked inside a room,_ Jake muses. He knows how claustrophobic she is.

Her cheeks are red and her whole body is shaking now, he can see when she shoots him a pleading look, hopeful he might have a brilliant idea in mind to get themselves (_her_) out of here.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he says in a soothing voice, wearing a soothing smile. “I’m sure someone will eventually come and open the door.”

“_Eventually_?!”

Okay, he’s not off with a great start in his _let’s try to calm Amy down_ project.

“You can just come in the hot tub in the meantime,” he comes up with a new tactic, then. “It’s really nice in here. And _hot_,” he insists on the last word. “And I have an extra beer I’d be happy to share.”

He raises an eyebrow in understanding but all Amy does is let out a sigh in return.

“I’m not wearing my swimsuit,” she retorts. Yet she still leaves her spot near the door and goes back to him.

Jake pauses for just a second to consider his answer before he carefully lets it out. “And? It wouldn’t be the first time I’m seeing you in your underwear. Plus I won’t look anyway, and you can’t see anything in here!” He hopes he didn’t go too far with his offer (being drunk usually makes him think even less before talking than he usually does), but he couldn’t think of another option and Amy’s body is still shivering.

“I don’t know…” she sounds hesitant.

“C’mon, Ames, you’re _freezing_!” He moves inside the tub to get closer to her, grinning when he finds himself in front of her with his eyes staring at her. “The water’s really good.” He amusedly splashes her a little to make her feel it and hopefully help her change her mind. He wouldn’t like her to get sick because she stood in the cold for too long.

She takes a step back, surprised by his unexpected gesture, yet a smile forms on her face as she does so. “Stop! I don’t want to get it wet!” She looks down at her coat.

The words are out of Jake’s mouth before they even form in his head first – like a natural reaction to her own instance.

“‘_I Don’t Want to Get it Wet’ – title of your sex tape!_”

And just like that, the atmosphere, which was rather light and agreeable until then, switches to an awkward silence as Amy stares at him. At that moment, Jake hates his drunken self for this sudden, unwelcomed outburst. Amy is watching him with her mouth half-open, as if she doesn’t know how to react to this. For a second he thinks he can see her eyes darkening a little in the night as her mind wanders off to somewhere else but it’s gone too soon for him to be sure – for him to understand what it means.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–…” Jake apologizes. She dismisses him, offering him a reassuring smile once the surprise has left her eyes.

“No, it’s okay. It was actually a good one.” Her smile grows bigger – more playful, this time. It’s all it takes for Jake to calm down a little and stop beating himself up too much. “Anyway, you’re right. The water _is_ good. I think I’ll take you up on that offer to join you in.”

With that, without waiting for any reaction on his part, Amy takes off her shoes, then her coat and beanie. She carefully puts them on a chair beside her before reaching for the jacket underneath.

Jake turns his head away to give her some privacy. Even though he tries to think about something else, eyes focused on the beer inside his hand, he can’t help but be very aware of the fact that Amy is undressing in his back. His heartbeat quickens in his chest as he keeps looking down.

Eventually, she joins him inside the hot tub. She lets out a contented sigh once she’s all settled in front of him. When he brings his gaze back on her, he can see her eyes are closed to better appreciate the warmth that’s probably overcoming her right now, coming from the hot water. It takes away all the remaining worries Jake might have had about his idea.

It’s clear to him she finds he was right, now that she’s here.

“What?” Amy frowns when she opens her eyes again and meets with his own.

“Told you you’d enjoy it.” He shoots her a smug grin, to which Amy answers with a shake of her head and splashes him in the face.

“Shut up.”

And just like that, everything goes back to normal between them as they’re bonding again.

It’s all laughter and breeziness between them for a while, then. They drink their beers and share stories with a smile plastered on their faces the whole time, _just like old times_. Jake’s mind is a little blurry with dizziness, which he doesn’t know comes from the several drinks he downed mixed with the steam of the hot tub, or the sheer happiness Amy is making him feel.

It’s most likely a mix of both.

He doesn’t feel sad-drunk anymore – he’s rather feeling _blissful_-drunk right now.

(And very much still in love with the woman sitting across from him.)

It’s all laughter and dizziness between them until the characteristic sound of Jake’s phone buzzing to warn him that he received a new text chimes in. He considers ignoring it at first and just go on with his conversation, but then realizes it might be one of their friends who finally noticed their absence. No matter how much he likes being alone with Amy, he can’t pass on the opportunity of someone maybe coming to their ‘rescue.’

For _her_. Because even though she doesn’t seem cold anymore, he guesses she’d still rather be inside, where she first intended to go back to.

He gets closer to her as he reaches for the device, put down on a chair by her side.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Amy teases when he’s about to grab it.

Her words make him look up at her curiously. “Why?”

She lets out a small laugh before further explaining herself. “You’re not really good with phones and water.” She shoots him an amused, knowing look – it doesn’t take long for Jake to understand what she’s talking about. He remembers well that one time his phone fell down her toilet on a weekend he was spending at her place.

He tried to play it discreet, but she caught him going through her cabinets in search of some rice and he had no other choice than to come clean.

“That’s a low blow, Santiago. It happened _once_,” he says in mock-annoyance, although he can’t help but laugh along with her.

In his chest, his heart warms up a little more than it already usually does in her presence.

“You sure about that?” She doesn’t buy it. “Because I remember you telling me it was the third time you were breaking a phone this way.”

“Well, what _I_ remember is that it worked very well again the next day.”

“You kidding me? I couldn’t understand half the texts you sent me at the time because the screen didn’t work well anymore and it didn’t write all the letters!”

They go on with their little banter for a while, relishing in this memory of what they used to be. It makes Jake completely forget about his text – until Amy reminds him of it, voice and face becoming all serious again after one last shared burst of happy laughter.

“Anyways, sorry. You should check your phone, yeah. What if it’s Valerie? Maybe she has something important to tell you.” The way she says his ex’s name (who she doesn’t know is his ex – he thought it’d be weird to talk about it with _her_) sounds a little defeated, and Jake swears he can see some sadness come shining inside her eyes for a beat as Amy averts her gaze.

He’s drunk, though – he’s probably reading too much into it and seeing what he wants to see. He might have feelings for her again, but there’s no way she does too.

He scratches the back of his neck in a nervous tic as he answers her. “Yeah, about that… I doubt it’s her.”

The words make Amy look up at him – if there might have been sadness before, it’s long gone now, replaced with confusion. “Why? I know we said it’s a no spouses and partners weekend, but you can still text them.”

“I know. But that’s the thing.” He lets out a sigh. “We’re not together anymore.”

“Oh,” is all Amy has to say at first.

A few seconds pass, filled in awkward silence. “I’m sorry.” She eventually breaks it again, offering him an apologetic smile.

“It’s okay. It’s been a few weeks now. I’m over it.”

“What happened?”

Jake pauses, not so sure he wants to go over the reasons of his breakup with Amy, of all people.

“Sorry.” She must sense his hesitation because she quickly talks again. “Of course you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I couldn’t say ‘I love you’ back,” he surprises himself by blurting it all out. He finds it hard to hold her gaze after that.

“Oh.” Here it is again. “And did you? Love her back?”

“Yeah. I wasn’t _deeply in love with her_ or something but, y’know…” He still can’t look at her.

“I’m so sorry. It sucks she broke up with you because of this.”

With his eyes down, Jake can see the hand that’s laid next to his twitch under the water, as if Amy’s considering to bring it on top of his in a comforting gesture.

She must change her mind eventually, because in the end she keeps it where it is.

(His body aches for her touch.)

“Nah, she’s right.” He looks up to stare into her eyes, a sad smile forming on his features. “I _am_ incapable of voicing my emotions. I mean, I was in love with you too and yet I never told you.” The confession is out before he can realize the weight of what he just said. When he does, it’s too late to take back the words.

(At least he didn’t tell her about how he _still_ loves her, he tries to reassure himself as best as he can.)

His heart is literally pounding in his chest as Jake waits for Amy to react in any way, but she simply watches him with her eyes wide and her mouth half-open.

“You… you loved me?!” She seems startled when she finally finds her voice but there’s something else shining inside her eyes – like she’s _in awe_, too?

Her response actually boosts his confidence a little. Or maybe it’s the alcohol still coursing through his veins, which already made him say stuff he wouldn’t have had the guts to say otherwise. This is why he doesn’t back away from the truth. “Of course I did. And maybe… maybe if I _did_ tell you when it still mattered, we wouldn’t have broken up too.”

He lowers his gaze again, now that the bomb is all out.

He’s pretty sure it’s gonna blow up in his face but he _had_ to say those words. Let her know how he still feels about her.

“Well, maybe if _I_ had told you too…” Amy trails off – and it’s actually nothing he had prepared himself for. She’s staring at him when he brings his gaze back on her.

The explosion does happen, but it’s one of bliss rather than desperation after being rejected like he thought he would be, and it takes over his whole heart.

_Amy Santiago loved him._

And if he’s to believe her words, it seems like she regrets them breaking up as well.

(It’s still a bittersweet feeling, though. Because some questions remain. Does _she_ still love him too? Would she be willing to start over?)

It takes Jake a few seconds to realize how close to him Amy is now sitting as he slowly falls down from his high. He catches how her eyes keep switching between his own and his lips, feels how the hand she was so hesitant to put on his has now found its (rightful) place on top of his. The touch of her skin against his still manages to send shivers running down his spine.

Their faces are only inches away, Amy’s shoulder brushing against his as she keeps getting closer, eager and a silent understanding shining in her eyes.

With anticipation running through his veins, Jake thinks about how he’s about to feel what Amy’s lips taste like again, after all this time.

It seems like he got an answer to his internal questions, after all – because why else would she be currently leaning towards him and about to _kiss_ him if it weren’t because she loves him back?

Because she wants to give their story another chance?

_“OUTCH!”_

Their mouths are _this_ close to brushing and their eyes are closed when the sound of someone squealing, then shouting in pain after seemingly being hit startles them away from one another.

“Charles?!” Jake recognizes his best friend’s high-pitched voice coming from the inside of the room. (Although right now, he could very well consider him his _worst enemy_ for having interrupted such a moment between him and Amy.) He sees him, as well as another silhouette he thinks he recognizes as Rosa, quickly bend down as they try to hide under a window.

“Don’t mind us and go back to kissing!” he hears their colleague shout from inside the house as only answer.

Jake would _love_ to do so. But as he brings his attention back on Amy, he can tell the moment between them is gone.

“I’m sorry. This was a bad idea.” She simply says before drawing further away from him as she starts heading outside the tub, grabs her stuff and goes towards the door. “Charles, open up!” she then demands as she knocks and, after a few seconds pass and she threatens him a little, not amused by his ‘prank,’ the man obliges.

Jake watches while her figure slowly disappears away from him when she walks up to her room without a look back in his direction.

Finally, everything blew up in his face indeed – and even more spectacularly than he first imagined it would.

“So, are you guys getting back together?!” Charles takes him out of his dark thoughts when he joins him outside. A hopeful grin is lighting up his whole face.

Jake lets out a sigh. “Not now, Charles.” Before he leaves the place as well without further explanation.

The door to Amy’s room is closed when he passes by it, and for a second he considers knocking – they can’t leave things as they are and need to talk about what (almost) happened. But then he resigns himself – he’s not so sure he could go through another heartbreak tonight. So he simply locks himself in his own room.

He doesn’t get much sleep that night, staring at the ceiling with his eyes wide open and his mind going through the previous events over and over.

It’s barely eight on the next morning when a weak knock on his door wakes him up after he eventually managed to fall into slumber. Some light is coming through the curtains of his window as the sun has set in the sky, and other than this one sound of someone knocking at his door, the full house seems to be quiet. He lets out a grunt when he slowly, very unwillingly tucks himself out of the warm covers of his bed. He curses whoever has come to disturb him as he reaches for the door – it’s probably Holt asking if he’d be up for a invigorating morning walk on the beach.

(He should know he most definitely _isn’t_.)

“Amy?!” Jake lets out her name in a startled voice when he opens the door and finds himself face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend. His heart comes breaking again in his chest as the simple sight of her manages to bring back what he tried so hard to forget the previous night: the memory of their little conversation in the hot tub, the brush of her breath against his face as they _almost kissed_.

“Hey.” She offers him a shy smile. “Brought you some Aspirin and a glass of water. I thought you might need it.” She shows him what’s inside her hands. Jake’s head is aching indeed, but not really from the hangover of having drunk too much – even though he did. But he doesn’t tell her that.

“Thank you.” He simply grabs the glass and medicine. For a while they stand in front of each other in awkward silence, until Amy clears her throat.

“Can I… come in? I feel like we should talk.”

Even though he doesn’t really want to – it’s too early for him to function properly, even more so to talk about _feelings_ –, he nods and pushes himself on the side to let her in. He knows she’s right, after all. They can’t ignore what happened, and the sooner they figure things out, the better.

They both sit on his bed, keeping a reasonable distance between their bodies.

“I’m sorry about last night. I crossed a line,” Amy starts and Jake sighs. He already knows where this is going.

“It’s okay.” He decides to go ahead and say it for her – the heartbreak will hurt less, if the words come from his own mouth. “We were both drunk and got lost in the moment. It’s a good thing Charles came in before we could actually _do_ something we would have regretted immediately after. Because we both know this,” he points towards the both of them, “can’t work romantically, right?”

(Saying it himself still hurts like hell.)

Amy doesn’t answer right away. She watches him with her lips slightly parted, these lips Jake wants to kiss so bad despite what he might have just said.

She seems to get lost in her thoughts for a moment. Her head lowers down and he follows her gaze. It fixes on his hand, a few inches away from her own. He remembers with an aching desire for her soft touch how she didn’t hesitate to close the gap between their hands the previous night. How she initiated it all.

The atmosphere is heavy between them – full of tension when she brings her eyes onto his again and lets out what sounds like a desperate sight then eventually speaks.

“Right… no ‘romantic-stylez’ to ever happen between us anymore, uh?” she agrees with a smile, although it looks rather sad and resigned – it resembles nothing like her usual _real_, beautiful beam.

Something inside of Jake breaks at her mention of the exact same words he himself used, the first night he acknowledged to her he had feelings for her at a time that seems like forever ago now. The outcome here is the quite same, minus the undercover mission and a boyfriend getting in the way: he wishes something could happen between them and yet, just like back then, just like Amy just made it clear, it can’t.

It _won’t_.

(At least back then, he didn’t know what it was, the blissful feeling of being able to call her his _girlfriend_. Now he does. And he misses it.)

“Well, if we both agree…” She clears her throat. Her voice takes him out of his reverie. “I guess I’ll see you later? Sorry I woke you up.” She stares for a beat too long.

But then she stands up and moves towards the door, and Jake finds himself close behind as he walks her out.

(As he doesn’t really want to let her go just yet.)

She reaches for the knob but changes her mind at the last second. She suddenly turns in his direction, watching him with questioning eyes.

“So… we’re good, right?”

“We’re good,” Jake assures with a nod.

“Noice.” She smiles, something delicate – although it doesn’t fully reach her eyes. It’s both amusing and hurtful at the same time, her use of his own catchphrase.

It reminds him of the past.

“Smort,” he plays along with her, wearing a genuine smile on his face as he lets the amusement take over the hurt.

The pain is still lingering somewhere inside of him though, but in spite of it, Jake somehow actually feels relieved, too – he’d hate for them to slip even further away than they already had because of the events of the previous night.

He can’t picture a life without Amy in it, whether as his girlfriend or just a friend.

So, they’re _good._

(Are they really, though?)

After that she turns to face the door again, but Jake acts before he can think. He grabs her wrist before she can make a move; before she can step away from him – he can’t let her leave again.

She seems surprised by the unpredicted gesture at first, until his mouth crashes onto her and he can feel her melting in his arms. She lets out a contented moan as she deepens their kiss, her hands tangling into his messy bed hair. Her lips feel the same as they always did in the past, _perfect_ against his own. Yet somehow, it also feels like he’s kissing her for the very first time.

Too soon they have to part, although they remain at close distance. Amy’s smiling when he looks at her – he’s grinning too, so much it almost hurts his cheeks, with his heart racing in his chest.

He can see some confusion shining in there as well, though.

“Sorry, it’s just that–… No, we’re not good.” He explains himself, then. He catches how her smile turns into a frown. “We’re far from good. I wasn’t _that_ drunk yesterday, and I do think we could work things out.” _To hell with their dumb excuses._ “I’m _ready_ to try and make things work – y’know, romantic-stylez. Because I love you.”

He says the words so easily, it should probably terrify him – but it doesn’t. On the opposite, finally getting to say them – and not in the past tense – feels good.

It feels _right_.

Inside his arms, Amy’s smile reappears on her face – bigger, _brighter_. She only answers to his little speech with four words. “I love you too.” Before _she_ kisses him this time, more tender now than their first eager exchange, and his heart bursts will blissfulness in his chest.

(When he proposes to her a few years later, having known for a while now she’s _the love of his life_ and he never wants to let her go ever again – he did that mistake once, won’t do it twice, and Amy seems to agree since she said _yes_ –, Charles can’t help but brag about how this is all happening because of him. They’re celebrating the engagement at _Shaw’s_ when he confesses.

“_I_’m the one who locked you out that night you guys went back together,” he explains. “With Rosa’s help,” he’s quick to add when the woman shoots him a dark glare.

In response, Amy (exaggeratedly) argues she almost _froze to death_ that night because of him. It makes Jake laugh as he holds her closer to him with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Despite his _fiancée_’s words, he can’t begin to feel mad at his best friends for coming up with such a plan. It _did_ help to bring them to where they are now, after all.

Ready to get _married_.)


	2. Amy Santiago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same scene, but seen through Amy’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao I’m in too deep with this fic. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Then it was supposed to happen, but be around 2k words only. Now this part has become longer than the first :’) Anyways, again, this would have never become what it is without @kamelea. Again, she came up with ideas for different parts of this version – like the reason why Amy left the party to smoke, or the song she hears at some point (which is ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ by Arctic Monkeys, by the way). This is the first time I’m rewriting the exact same story but from someone else’s point of view so I hope it won’t come completely changing what was established in the first part haha.
> 
> I *do* intend to write a third part from Charles’ point of view, but I have a thesis to write and only 15 days left to do so, so… unfortunately it’ll have to wait till I’m done with it. Because I *do* intend to keep it short but who knows now what will happen lol.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments on the first part, though – hope you’ll like Amy’s version as well <3

Amy Santiago doesn’t smoke at parties.

She only does so once in a while, when the pressure becomes too much and she needs to relax in some ways. It’s a habit she took back in college – things became more stressful then as she was getting closer to entering the real  _ adult _ life and had to face the choices that come with. She resorted to this method when none of her usual calming techniques would work.

It all started with one of her classmates offering her a cigarette ( _ “you look like you could use it right now,” they said _ ), to which she agreed. She told herself it would be the only time she would give smoking a chance. But she did it again after that – after it worked and calmed her down –, and  _ again _ , until it became an addiction.

Until the urge to light up a cigarette every time she freaked out too much and nothing else would help her relax became too important to ignore.

She tried to stop but hasn’t succeeded yet.

It doesn’t help that she works in a very stressful environment where she faces death every day.

So Amy does smoke, but she never smokes at parties. Because parties aren’t supposed to be  _ stressful _ . They’re supposed to be about friends and fun and having a  _ great _ time – especially when said parties happen during one of the squad’s annual getaways at Charles’ beach house. These parties are usually the  _ best _ , some that she looks forward to every year.

Still here she is, shamefully sneaking out of the party room and out of the house with the precious stick in her hand and a lighter carefully put in the pocket of her warm winter coat. She would like to blame her sudden urge to smoke on Jake, or maybe Charles and his stupid constant need to talk about food, but really, the only person she can blame here is  _ herself _ .

Or rather, her four-drink counterpart, who didn’t hesitate to say out loud what she usually manages to keep locked away at the very back of her head.

She doesn’t even really know how Charles came to mention something about  _ chicken fingers _ , of all things. All she remembers is him repeating the word ‘finger’ too many times for her perverted brain to handle. “You know who has nice, long fingers?” she spilled it out as her mind had gone elsewhere. “ _ Jake. _ ” She didn’t think before she dropped the bomb – she was too lost in her own thoughts.

It’s only when she spotted the look of shock and disgust on her friends’ faces that she realized that what she just said was  _ too much _ . She felt her ears and cheeks and neck burn in a blush while she looked around the room, panic coursing wild in her veins. It died down a little when she noticed that Jake wasn’t here and thus didn’t hear her comment.

The anxiety didn’t fully disappear though, as everyone remained silent around her. Only Charles broke it after a little while.

“You’re right! Jake has amazing hands,” he exclaimed with a grin. He was clearly oblivious to the awkward atmosphere that had fallen upon the room.

This was the last straw for Amy. She needed to get out of here. She needed to have a smoke.

So she left without a word nor a look towards her squad.

The wind is blowing when she takes a first step outside, sending shivers running down her spine. She’s wearing gloves but she can still feel the cold burning the skin of her hands as it wraps tighter around the cigarette. Before she can bring it to her mouth, though, she spots a silhouette hidden in the dark of the night.

_ There’s someone in the hot tub. _

Amy curses under her breath – she hates being caught like this, during one of her most shameful moments.

She squeezes her eyes in order to better see who’s there. Her heart misses a beat when she recognizes  _ him  _ – the reason why she’s outside right now. “Jake?! What, uh–… what are you doing here?” He’s facing her, sitting a few meters away from her in nothing but his swim trunks and a beer in one hand.

Her first reflex is to try and hide the cigarette behind her back so that he can’t see it, although she knows she doesn’t have to do this.

Unlike Teddy and other past boyfriends, Jake knows about her addiction. He has had for a while.

Plus, he’s not even her boyfriend anymore.

“And here I thought somebody had finally noticed I’ve been gone for like, the past half-hour,” he jokes. It’s all it takes for Amy’s body to relax as she lets out a small chuckle. She can’t help but feel a little guilty, too – although she  _ did _ notice his absence (and even felt  _ relieved _ about it only mere minutes ago), it’s true she, or no-one in the squad for that matter, didn’t think about checking on him.

To her defence, Amy imagined he might have gone away to call his girlfriend and thus needed some privacy. She didn’t want to go look for him and see if her assumptions were true. She didn’t think she could handle the sight of him sitting on his bed with a grin on his face and his eyes full of adoration if she were to catch him in a deep conversation with Valerie.

(Or worse. If she were to walk on him sex-calling her.)

( _ Damn _ her mind after four drinks for taking her thoughts to such unsettling places she’d rather not picture in her head.)

It would have been too hurtful.

“You okay?” His question startles her out of her reverie. For a second, Amy worries that he might have read the pain in her eyes (he’s always been good at reading her, after all) but then she spots how his own eyes are darting towards the cigarette she’s still hiding. Of course he knows what it means, when she goes out to have a smoke.

She can feel her ears burning in the beginning of a blush when she brings her attention back onto him.

“Yeah, I just, uh–… it’s nothing.” She looks away, unable to hold his intense –  _ caring _ – gaze on her.

She can’t really let him in on what triggered her – can’t look him in the eye and confess that  _ he _ happened.

He, and what he used to make her feel, with these damn nice fingers of his.

(It’s not just this, though. It’s so much more than the great sex they used to have. It’s  _ everything _ . She misses  _ him _ – all of him, including who  _ she _ was, when they were together. She loved him, truly and fully, and if she’s being true to herself, she never stopped. She never managed to move on. But he has, and everything is going great with his new girlfriend.

So she can’t tell him.)

Thankfully for her, Jake doesn’t seem like dwelling more on the topic. He doesn’t ask her to further explain herself. And Amy’s grateful for it – she’s not thinking straight enough to come up with an excuse as to what brought her here, in this dark and quiet night.

Despite her first instincts – it might have been a while since they parted ways now, but it’s not too often she and Jake find themselves being just the two of them outside of work –, Amy takes a few steps in his direction. Her face softens when she reaches his side and she watches him, all alone in this tub. It’s very unlike him to do such things – to leave a party to stay on his own.

This is why she asks, echoing his own previous question and concerns, “Are you?”

“Yeah,” he says with a smile.

Amy studies his face for a beat, just to make sure he’s telling the truth. She can’t bring herself to hold his gaze for too long, though. The way he’s staring at her, with such intensity with his whole face glowing in the light of the hot tub, quickly forces her to look down. Her eyes focus on his chest instead.

Which is a bad idea, she soon realizes. Because all her inebriated mind does is make her think about how she wishes she could run her hands through the exposed skin, tracing every muscle there.

But she  _ can’t _ . There was a time she could, but not anymore. She was dumb enough to let him go, overwhelmed with her fears and doubts about messing everything up.

“Oh, you can smoke your cigarette if you feel the need to. I don’t mind,” Jake suddenly breaks the silence that naturally fell upon them. It startles Amy a little, who had completely forgotten about her need to smoke. She looks down at the small stick still wrapped inside her hand – she doesn’t feel any urge to light it up overcoming her body as she stares at it.

She notices how her heartbeat has slowed back down to normal, too. She’s not stressed out anymore, thus doesn’t feel the need to use a cigarette.

All thanks to Jake’s soothing presence.

She shoots him a smile. “Thanks. But actually, I don’t want to anymore,” she tells him sincerely.

But then she realizes she has no excuse to stay here with him anymore either. She doesn’t want to leave his side, though. She tries to think about a way to keep their conversation going – something that shouldn’t be hard, given how easy it is to talk with him. Until her reason takes over. It’s probably best if she just goes back to the rest of their group, even though it means facing them again after the awkwardness she brought earlier with her words.

Jake and she might be friends ( _ best _ friends, even, in the sense that no-one else knows and understands her better than he does), he’s also still an ex-boyfriend of hers.

An ex-boyfriend she never managed to stop having feelings for when he clearly did. Which sucks – and hurts.

The wind starts blowing again, sending shivers running down her spine with the rush of cold it suddenly brings to her body, and Amy thinks this is her sign.

“Wanna come back downstairs?” she offers, then. She might believe him when he says he’s fine, it doesn’t mean it pleases her to see Jake alone while everyone else is enjoying their time together.

(She will never tell him that, but she also believes he always livens up a party with his shenanigans. Plus, she thinks that if he comes back down with her, their friends will have the decency not to bring up her comment about his  _ nice, long fingers _ and make things even more embarrassing than they already are.)

“Maybe in a bit. I want to finish my beer first,” he says and Amy hesitates again. Wouldn’t she be a bad friend if she just left him like this?!

She’s  _ really _ freezing now, though, in this winter weather, and his beer is still half-full. That’s why she eventually chooses to go.

After all, Jake doesn’t look too bad nor sad. On the contrary, he’s looking at her fondly – which makes her heart melt in her chest.

Yep, it’s definitely better if she stays away from him tonight.

“Okay. See you, then,” she walks towards the door, her whole body already relaxing at the mere thought of being surrounded with the warmth of the inside of the house again.

The feeling soon turns into frustration when she wraps her hand around the knob and pushes, but nothing happens. She tries again, harder this time, before coming to the realization that the door is closed. It’s a little weird, she can’t help but think as she turns back into Jake’s direction, since it wasn’t closed when she first came out.

“Do you have the key?” she asks in a hopeful voice.

“Nope. Why? The door wasn’t closed when I came in,” he says and the frustration is soon replaced with a slight pang of panic building at the center of her core.

“It wasn’t when I came in either. But now it is.”

She doesn’t wait for a reaction as she brings her attention towards the door. She rings at the doorbell and knocks on the hard wood. She even tries to call her friends’ names, but receives no answer from them. The panic keeps growing as seconds pass and she becomes more and more aware of the cold wind hitting her.

It doesn’t help her to calm down and think straight – it’s quite the opposite, actually.

She absolutely  _ hates _ being cold.

“I can’t stay out here,” she lets out in desperation after another round of trying to open the damn door. This is when she remembers she’s not alone, and looks back at Jake, hopeful he might help her – after all, even though she wouldn’t dare to admit it out loud and help his already big enough ego, he always has the best ideas.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure someone will eventually come and open the door,” he tells her then, probably reading the helplessness in her eyes.

Amy knows he wants to be supportive, and his whole being radiates calmness as he talks to her, but yet all she can do is pick up on  _ one _ word he lets out that makes her freak out a little harder.

“ _ Eventually _ ?!”

“You can just come in the hot tub in the meantime.” Thankfully, he’s quick to come up with something else. “It’s really nice in here. And  _ hot _ . And I have an extra beer I’d be happy to share.”

Although the offer  _ does _ sound appealing this time and could actually help her feel better about the whole situation indeed, Amy lets out a sigh.

“I’m not wearing my swimsuit.”

Despite her words, she walks towards him – there’s no need for her to remain by the door now. Plus she could use some company – she hopes Jake will come up with ways to distract her from her newfound anxiety. After all, he’s always been pretty good at it – especially after they started dating.

Her answer doesn’t seem to throw him off. “And? It wouldn’t be the first time I’m seeing you in your underwear. Plus I won’t look anyway, and you can’t see anything in here!”

To say Amy’s startled by his words is an understatement. He’s right, of course – he  _ did _ see her in her underwear often, and even  _ naked _ – but wouldn’t it be weird now, as they parted ways?

Wouldn’t it be weird regarding  _ his girlfriend _ ?

She knows he would never do something Valerie wouldn’t be at ease with, though. And the woman never seemed thrown off by their proximity whenever he invited her to hang out with the squad and Amy was here as well – not that the two exes were really close, when Valerie was here. They couldn’t be. He had all eyes on her and her only.

Amy remembers the first time she saw the other woman. She was the last of their group of friends to meet her. She wasn’t too keen on getting to know the new person who had stolen Jake’s heart. She could hear enough stories about her back at the precinct – stories that always made her heart clench in her chest. She didn’t want to know what would happen when facing her, then.

But when one month turned into three, she had to acknowledge this new relationship might be getting serious and the other woman would be around for a while.

Tall, blond, with a huge smile plastered on her face, Valerie entered  _ Shaw’s _ bar walking hand-in-hand with Jake. He did the introductions, nervously watching as the two shook hands. Their encounter was very short and polite – Valerie even complimented Amy on her handshake. And although they didn’t talk much that night, Amy had to admit the other woman seemed nice.

And good for Jake.

She remembers how they spent most of the night just the two of them at the bar, sharing some food and drinks. Even though she tried not to pay them too much attention, Amy couldn’t help but shoot a few glances in their direction once in a while, especially when Valerie’s laughter would rise into the air after Jake probably told her one of his stupid jokes.

Her hand was on his thigh, touching him in an intimate gesture while he was looking at her with a grin he used to offer  _ her _ and eyes shining with what could be interpreted as pure adoration.

Amy quickly turned her attention away from the pair and reached for her drink, heart aching like hell at the reminder that  _ she _ was the one he used to make laugh and the realization that he was, indeed, completely over her – now only Valerie mattered. She’s seen her a couple of times again since, and it’s always been the same.

So of course Valerie has nothing to worry about her joining Jake in a hot tub half-naked. Because of course he won’t look at her – it’s been a while he hasn’t looked at her like he used to. Like she’s the moon and stars and  _ everything _ . Like he now probably looks at  _ Valerie _ .

(The lucky woman.)

“I don’t know…” she trails off, shaking the depressing thoughts away from her mind, but Jake insists.

“C’mon, Ames, you’re  _ freezing _ ! The water’s really good.” He playfully – and without a warning first – splashes her with some water. She gets the immediate reflex to take a step away as she looks down at her coat. Getting it wet surely won’t help her to warm up, even though that water  _ is _ good and hot indeed – she can feel it as a few droplets hit the bare skin of her face.

“Stop! I don’t want to get it wet!” she complains, although she can’t help but feel a little amused by his shenanigans too.

“ _ ‘I Don’t Want to Get it Wet’ – title of your sex tape! _ ”

Amy freezes suddenly. She hasn’t heard such a sentence being thrown at her in such a long time; so much so that it feels weird now. It brings back memories of what they used to be.

And if she used to roll her eyes at him when he’d say that to her, right now she doesn’t know how to react to the joke.

(The remnants of her 4-drink counterpart can’t help but think about how wet, as opposed to what he just implied, Jake used to make her, too. Thankfully for her, said counterpart has died down enough by now to keep those thoughts at bay this time and not feel the urge to share them with him. The consequences would have been terrible otherwise.)

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–…” His voice brings her back to reality. He’s looking at her apologetically, and Amy can’t help but dismiss him with a smile to reassure him.

“No, it’s okay. It was actually a good one.” And she means it. She kind of missed this banter between the two of them.

Her body shivers once more and she remembers the warm feeling of water hitting her face. She decides she’d be stupid to let her concerns prevent her from enjoying a hot tub. If Jake’s okay with her joining him – which he truly seems to be –, then there’s no need to make a whole fuss about it herself.

Plus, she trusts him. More than she will ever trust anyone. Of course he won’t make things weird.

(She trusts herself a little less on that part right now, but she knows she’ll feel better after she downs her next drink – aka. the beer Jake promised her.)

“Anyway, you’re right,” she says, then. “The water  _ is _ good. I think I’ll take you up on that offer to join you in.”

She hurries to undress not to let the cold overwhelm her even more than it already does, with being outside with fewer and fewer clothes on, until she finds herself only in her bra and panties. Then she enters the hot tub. Her body immediately relaxes against the feeling of hot water skimming her skin. She lets out a contented sigh, closing her eyes to better appreciate the new (welcomed) warmth that’s overcoming her as she lets herself sink into the water until only her head is out. The tips of her loosened hair are floating over her bare shoulders. She feels  _ good _ , here.

When she opens her eyes again and sets them on him, she can see Jake looking at her with an amused smile.

“What?” she asks with a curious frown, although his smile is contagious as she can feel her own lips curve up slightly.

“Told you you’d enjoy it.”

His grin is so smug, she wants to kiss the expression away from his face. But of course she can’t.

“Shut up.” She settles for fake-annoyance instead and splashes him in the face. It makes him laugh; soon enough she finds herself laughing along with him.

The atmosphere between them remains this light for a while, sharing their beers and stories about their past. It definitely feels like old times, and Amy would let herself drown into this sweet feeling of things being  _ right _ when she’s with Jake if it weren’t for his phone ringing and the thought that it might be his girlfriend contacting him taking over her mind.

Still she almost forgets about her again for a hot minute, when they both get lost in the recollection of a scene from when they were still together. Until she suddenly remembers what Jake was about to do before she interrupted him. “Anyways, sorry. You should check your phone, yeah. What if it’s Valerie? Maybe she has something important to tell you.”

Her heart breaks a little in her chest at the mention of his girlfriend. She needs to look away from him, unable to meet his eyes.

“Yeah, about that… I doubt it’s her.” The tone of his voice is somehow doubtful, which makes her look up at him again. She doesn’t understand.

“Why? I know we said it’s a no spouses and partners weekend, but you can still text them.”

“I know. But that’s the thing. We’re not together anymore.” Clearly, she wasn’t expecting  _ that _ .

So many emotions take over Amy’s heart once she hears the news, it’s hard for her to keep up with them.

“Oh.” She can’t seem to remember how to talk. Actually, she doesn’t know  _ what _ to tell him. Part of her is feeling bad for Jake, obviously.

But part of her is also (very shamefully – very  _ selfishly _ ) thriving. Which she shouldn’t be. This doesn’t open up new possibilities. Jake being single doesn’t mean he might have feelings for her again. And even if he did, they broke up for a  _ reason _ . One Amy often thinks was dumb, the more she muses about it (and she does so more than she’d care to admit), but  _ still _ .

She feels terrible for having such thoughts  _ now _ , as Jake just told her about his break up with his girlfriend.

“I’m sorry,” she adds. And she means it – although judging by his body language right now, he doesn’t seem  _ that _ crushed.

“It’s okay. It’s been a few weeks now. I’m over it.”

For a second, Amy feels a little betrayed he didn’t tell her before. But she understands, deep down. It’s weird to talk break ups with your ex-girlfriend.

Yet, despite this thought, she can’t help but ask him for more details. “What happened?”

The look he gives her in return makes her regret her words immediately. “Sorry. Of course you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she quickly says, then.

“I couldn’t say ‘I love you’ back,” he blurts it out and Amy’s heart tightens in her chest at the words.

“Oh. And did you?” She clears her throat, the pain of what he might answer hitting a little harder. She doesn’t even know why she asks. “Love her back?”

She studies him but his eyes are stuck on his beer.

“Yeah. I wasn’t deeply in love with her or something but, y’know…” he trails off. Just like that, the last thread of hope that was still hanging at the very back of her mind is gone. All Amy can feel right now is bad for Jake – for her  _ best friend _ – to have had to go through such a thing. She just wants him to be  _ happy _ .

And if he were with Valerie… then it’s a shame she left him.

(She can’t understand why she did. Sure, he has his issues and sure, he wasn’t very verbal with how he felt about her when they were still together either. But he had his own ways of showing he cared about her – well, maybe not as much as he did Valerie, since he probably didn’t love  _ her _ . Plus he’s full of many a quality. The woman’s a fool for having let him go like this.)

(Amy knows something about it, as she beats herself up over it every single day.)

“I’m so sorry. It sucks she broke up with you because of this.” She wants to show him some support.

She feels the urge to grab his hand and hold it with hers, to touch him to show him she’s there for him, but she restrains herself at the last second.

“Nah, she’s right.” He startles her when he talks again and looks at her this time. There’s some resolution in his sad eyes that makes her heart ache for him. She hates seeing him like this. But then he goes on. “I  _ am _ incapable of voicing my emotions. I mean, I was in love with you too and yet I never told you.”

He says the words so naturally, Amy thinks she misunderstood at first. The feeling that overwhelms her is indescribable – it’s a mix of utter joy and bittersweetness.

_ Jake loved her. _ She didn’t know that. Sure, she knew he had feelings for her, but to go as far as talking about  _ love _ …

It doesn’t mean he still does, though. Actually, he most likely doesn’t, since he fell in love with another since.

“You… you loved me?!” She’s almost afraid of saying the words out loud, afraid he’ll tell her this is not what he meant and she  _ did _ misunderstand him indeed.

But he doesn’t tell her that. On the contrary, what he says next makes her heart pound even harder in her chest than it already is.

“Of course I did. And maybe… maybe if I  _ did _ tell you when it still mattered, we wouldn’t have broken up too.”

This is all too much information at once. It takes Amy a few more seconds to fully realize what just happened here. But when she does, a rush of confidence comes running through her veins.

(She can thank the now five-drink Amy taking over her mind and talking for her.)

“Well, maybe if  _ I _ had told you too…” she lets him know what she couldn’t say before as she gets even closer to him than they had already become.

There’s a new fire, a new determination shining inside her eyes as she stares deep into his eyes, in-between two glances at his lips. She still has the memory of what these lips felt on hers stuck at the back of her head. She misses the taste of them  _ so much _ . As she keeps approaching him, getting dangerously close now, she doesn’t back away from her need to touch him. She brings her hand to his and gently covers it with her own.

Jake gets closer too, shoulders brushing together and ready to meet her halfway as he watches her with a knowing look.

Amy shuts her eyes in anticipation to better appreciate the feeling of what’s to come when it suddenly happens.

_ “OUTCH!” _

She’s startled away from Jake from the sound of a man – Charles, she recognizes his voice easily – shouting in pain. Realization of what she was about to do hits her, and a huge pang of relief, mingled with frustration and sadness, overcomes her as she thinks about what a mistake it would have been if they’d kissed indeed.

They’re both drunk. They can’t do such things with a mind that’s not completely clear. No matter how much she’s been wanting this, how often she’s been thinking about this in her fantasies, she can’t handle the thought of him maybe regretting it the next day. She can’t handle the thought of them rushing into things, and screwing up again.

“Charles?!” Jake hisses next to her as he calls out their common friend.

“Don’t mind us and go back to kissing!” Their colleague says from the inside of the house.

But it’s too late. The moment is lost and despite whatever her mind tries to tell her – especially when she meets with Jake’s sad eyes –, it’s for  _ the best _ .

“I’m sorry. This was a bad idea.”

She can’t look at him as she gets out of the hot tub and gathers her clothes, then reaches for the door. She has to fight the urge to turn back, the urge to go and finish what they started. She knows if she looks at Jake she won’t be able to restrain herself. So she doesn’t.

_ This was a bad idea _ , the words are going on a loop in her head while she tries to convince herself.

“Charles, open up!” She knocks on the door, hard. She’s in no mood to wait and play along with his dumb games – all that she wants is to take a hot shower and tuck herself inside her warm covers. She needs to forget about the whole night.

Once she’s finally inside, Amy acts like heading straight to her room but some music coming from the party still going downstairs catches her attention. It makes her stop in her tracks in the middle of the stairs to listen to it when she recognizes the song.

_ So have you got the guts? _

_ Been wondering if your heart’s still open and _

_ If so I wanna know what time it shuts _

_ Simmer down and pucker up _

_ I’m sorry to interrupt it’s just I’m constantly _

_ On the cusp of trying to kiss you _

_ I don’t know if you feel the same as I do _

_ But we could be together, if you wanted to _

She lets out a frustrated groan at the irony of it. The lyrics of this song definitely hit too close to home. They remind her too much of what might have happened only mere minutes ago.

With a sigh, she shakes the thoughts away from her head and hurries to her room. There, she locks herself inside and gets rid of the last few pieces of clothing on her as she enters the shower. The water running down her body as she washes herself kind of helps her sober up a little, and her mind his clearer when she eventually goes to bed.

But she doesn’t go to sleep just yet. She can’t, not after what happened. Not after what she learned.

Jake is single again, she goes through every new bit of information one by one. He has been for some time now, enough to actually think about dating again.

He loved her, back when they were still in a relationship. Which they never told each other before – if Amy thought about letting out the words several times, she never did. She knew it might make him feel uncomfortable to hear them – she knew he might not be able to say them back. She was willing to wait.

It seems that they waited for too long, though. But now they both have feelings for each other again.

Or so it looks like. Which lead to the last part. They  _ almost kissed _ .

Shivers run down Amy’s spine and her heart starts racing in her chest as she remembers the moment – how her whole body awoke in anticipation to get to feel his lips against hers once more, after all this time.

Does she want to kiss him again? Yes.

Does she want to go back together with him? Damn, yes.

Is it a good idea? She’s not so sure. She has had months to imagine such a scenario happening, but now that the possibility is becoming real and tangible, it’s a whole other situation. One she has to deeply think about before coming to any conclusion. So, Amy does what she does best: she makes a list.  _ The pros and cons of starting over. _ She decides to start with the cons.

  1. _We were drunk,_ she writes first.
  2. _We broke up for a reason._
  3. _Going back together with your ex is never a good idea._
  4. _Especially since he broke up with his last girlfriend only weeks ago._

And that’s it. No matter how long she stares at the page in front of her, how hard she tries to think about it, she can’t come up with more reasons than these four right now. So she switches sides, and goes to the pros.

She begins with the obvious, with those same words she let out right before they got together the first time, when she knew all too well the impact they would have.

  1. _He makes me laugh._

Then she keeps writing, adding reason after reason. Her mind is rushing and it’s like she can’t stop. She thinks about Jake, about how good he is, how  _ right _ it felt when she was with him. She thinks about the things she misses about him; about what they used to be. She thinks about what changed – what  _ improved _ – in her life when they were seeing each other romantically.

They weren’t together for  _ that _ long, didn’t reach the 6 months mark but still. He managed to shatter her world like nobody else ever did.

(He already had, to be honest, even before they started dating. And he still does, even just as  _ friends _ .)

That’s how she comes up with her last, maybe most important reason why she should give their story another chance:  _ I love him _ .

She stares at her list for a while with her heart pounding in her chest. A small smile forms on her lips. Yep, she definitely wants to get back together with him.

The only question now is to know if Jake wants as well. Sure, he didn’t back off when she leaned in earlier to kiss him. But, as she wrote on the ‘cons’ side of her list, they were  _ both _ drunk. Maybe he’s going to see it as a moment of weakness, after having been dumped by the woman he loved. Maybe he just wanted to kiss her and nothing more. Maybe  _ he _ doesn’t want to try again.

The simple thought of it makes her heart ache.

Amy knows they need to talk, has had ever since she chose to left him earlier, but she’s also well aware of how late it is right now and how this is a conversation that needs to wait until the next day. She neatly folds the list and puts it away on the nightstand next to her before she switches the lights off and lies her head down on the pillow, ready to fall asleep.

(In her dream, Jake kisses her – and nobody’s there to interrupt them this time.)

It’s barely 7 a.m. when she wakes up, a time she more than anyone knows to be too early for Jake to be awake already – especially on a weekend. Actually, no one in the house seems to be yet, as she finds herself surrounded with complete silence when she goes down to the kitchen. Her head hurts a little, but she thankfully doesn’t feel too hungover.

She makes a stop in front of her ex-boyfriend’s door on her way. She has to fight the urge to knock right now and forces herself to go on with her course instead. She goes through her list of pros and cons one more time as she makes herself some breakfast, planning a whole speech in her mind about what to tell Jake. More than ever she’s certain of her feelings and what she wants.

By the time she’s finished eating and getting changed, it’s 8 a.m. and there’s still not a sound inside the house. She can’t retain herself any longer, though – she needs to talk to Jake  _ now _ . She can’t wait for him to wake up on his own. She can’t lose her chance of talking to him in private either, if he were to wake up after the rest of their squad does. She can’t wait until they’re back in Brooklyn to have this conversation. It’s too important – and not only for her. If they don’t mention what almost happened the previous night, things might become awkward between them.

Which she obviously doesn’t want. Jake’s too important for her to risk losing him.

(Yet she might, if she tells him she wants to get back together with him but he  _ doesn’t _ . She quickly chases the thought away, though. She can’t back off now. She can’t miss her chance – they missed enough chances to last a lifetime in the past, back when they hadn’t been dating yet. And like they both acknowledged the previous night when they finally let each other know of their feelings for the other while they were still in a relationship, it’s better to tell the other how you feel or you might put an end to a beautiful story for dumb reasons.)

Before knocking on his door, Amy goes back down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and an Aspirin. Not only does she think he might need it, it will also probably help her start a conversation and ease her anxious body with the offer. She freezes for a second in front of his door before she pushes herself to eventually knock.

She hears him groan from the other side of the room and it makes her smile. Jake definitely  _ isn’t _ a morning person.

(There was a time when she knew how to wake him up so that he wouldn’t mind seeing the early hours of the day in the slightest.)

A few seconds pass before he opens the door. When he does, Amy’s heart misses a beat at the sight of him as flashes of the previous night come back to her. She has to restrain herself from simply kissing him right here and there and forget about everything else.

_ God, she’s in so deep. _

“Amy?!” Jake seems startled to see her here.

His hair is messy at the top of his head, with some curls going everywhere. Amy wishes she could smooth them down like she used to love doing so, before.

(Like she knows Jake used to love too. And if everything goes well, she might be able to do it again soon.)

“Hey.” She quickly dismisses the thought – she needs to  _ focus _ right now. She shows him what she’s holding. “Brought you some Aspirin and a glass of water. I thought you might need it.” She softly smiles at him as she hands them to him.

“Thank you.” Jake sounds distant. He’s barely looking at her. It makes her hesitate for a beat until she forces herself to find some composure.

“Can I… come in?” she asks. Her heart is literally pounding in her chest. “I feel like we should talk.” Her own voice is more solemn than she wanted it to be.

Jake doesn’t say anything in return. He simply agrees to her request with a nod and by throwing himself to the side. She enters the room and they silently walk towards the bed, where they sit together.

Amy takes a huge breath before she talks again.  _ This is it, _ this thinks as she feels her hands shake a little in both fear and excitement. The moment of truth has arrived.

“I’m sorry about last night. I crossed a line,” she starts her speech with an apology.

Even though she  _ does _ want to get back together with him, Amy still believes it shouldn’t start with them drunkenly kissing. She shouldn’t have come for him like that and ‘take advantage’ of his confession to do what she’d been dreaming of doing (though always restrained herself) for a long while.

“It’s okay,” Jake cuts her with a sigh. It startles her – she wasn’t expecting that. What he says next, doing the whole speech himself, startles her even more. “We were both drunk and got lost in the moment. It’s a good thing Charles came in before we could actually  _ do _ something we would have regretted immediately after. Because we both know this can’t work romantically, right?”

It’s all it takes to leave Amy heartbroken and at a loss of words. She’s taken off-guard for not having been able to say her own speech. She thinks she catches some hurt in his eyes, as if he’s saying these words in a resigned way more than truly meaning them, but she might be wrong. She  _ is _ wrong, and simply reading into his face what she wishes were true so that she can still have hope.

Her eyes land towards the hand that’s lying next to hers for a beat, so close yet so far away. She remembers the feeling of her skin touching his the previous night. The pain that she won’t get to intertwine these fingers with hers rushes through her veins.

This is definitely not the outcome she had hoped for. But if this is what Jake wants… well, she can’t go against that.

She tries to play it cool, then. “Right… no ‘romantic-stylez’ to ever happen between us anymore, uh?” she lets it out amusedly but inside, her heart is crushing hard.

There’s no need to stay here any longer, now that they made it clear there’s no getting back together. She has no speech to go by anymore, nothing to help her overcome this situation. “Well, if we both agree… I guess I’ll see you later? Sorry I woke you up,” she simply says as she feels the sudden urge to leave. She doesn’t move just yet, though – stares Jake in the eye one last time.

Then she stands up and rushes towards the door. She can sense his presence in her back as he’s following her. It makes her stop at the door. She’s really not feeling at ease with the outcome of this conversation. She can’t let things end like this. She needs to say  _ something _ , let him know of these feelings she kept inside for too long before – even if she knows it won’t change anything.

At least it’ll be out of her chest.

But when Amy turns around and her eyes meet with Jake’s, the words die down at the back of her throat. “So… we’re good, right?” she’s only able to ask.

She couldn’t bear the thought of this ‘incident’ pushing them away from each other all over again. It took them some time after they broke up to go back to normal – and she doesn’t want to relive that period of awkwardness and having to overthink every time they want to tell the other something.

“We’re good.” He nods.

“Noice.” She mimics his old antics. She’s clearly stalling, now, as she tries to smile at him – it barely reaches her eyes.

“Smort.” He returns an amused smile.

There’s nothing more to say. So Amy turns around, ready to leave for good this time and hope she’ll be able to quickly get over this rejection. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe this is the closure she needed to  _ finally _ get over him, she tries to persuade herself. She’s in the middle of thinking about this when she feels something grasping her wrist. She’s being pulled away from the door.

The gesture is so sudden, she doesn’t have the time to realize what’s going on until Jake’s lips are on hers and eagerly claiming her mouth.

At first, she thinks that she’s dreaming.

But then she finds herself kissing him back, her whole body melting against his own and her heart exploding in her chest, and it’s like the world is turning round again. All of her thoughts of  _ closure _ and  _ getting over him _ wash away as she doesn’t waste any time to bring her hands to his hair like she so wished to do so previously. Jake keeps her close while she deepens the kiss. His touch on her waist sends shivers running down her spine, like this is all happening for the first time. Yet, the way their bodies align so well together reminds her how this is  _ not _ .

How this is an intimacy they used to know and  _ love _ .

Then, they have to (reluctantly) part.

Slowly going down from her high, Amy can’t help but wonder  _ why _ Jake did this, after what he just told her. She’s hopeful, yet doesn’t want to get her hopes  _ too _ up again.

“Sorry, it’s just that–… No, we’re not good,” he tells her and she frowns. “We’re far from good. I wasn’t  _ that _ drunk yesterday, and I do think we could work things out. I’m  _ ready _ to try and make things work – y’know, romantic-stylez. Because I love you.”

And just like that, it’s like a weight is being lifted off her chest. She can feel some tears of emotion prickling inside her eyes at his (last) words.

_ Jake loves her. _ And she loves him too. Which she doesn’t waste any time to tell him – to hell with her grand speeches. She’ll be able to come up with plenty of those later if she wants.

Because  _ he’s ready to try and make things work _ between the two of them. He wants to give their story another chance, too.

Amy brings her lips to his in another kiss, already missing them, after all this time being apart. A playful smile is lighting up Jake’s entire face when she draws away. He’s still holding her by the waist, as if he’s not willing to let her go now that they found each other again – and really, she doesn’t mind in the slightest. She doesn’t want to leave either.

Her own hands are on his chest. She can feel the loud thump of his beating heart and how it’s very slowly getting down to normal.

“Y’know, I was gonna cry myself back to sleep about how I let you go again, but I guess I could use some company now, if you wanna stay…” He shoots her a knowing, amused look. It makes Amy chuckle lightly.

“Well, I guess I could use a nap too,” she answers just as playfully. Jake grins in return but doesn’t say a word.

Instead, he leads her to the bed with his hand securely wrapped around hers and it’s like no time has passed nor been lost between them.


	3. Charles Boyle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same scene again, through Charles’ eyes this time, with a small Rosa apparition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while but the last part’s finally here :) Probably less entertaining (and definitely much shorter) than the previous ones but well, it’s written so here we go. Once again, thank you @kamelea for turning this project into what it’s become haha <3

If someone was devastated by the news of Jake and Amy’s split-up (other than the ex-couple, of course), it was Charles Boyle.

He’d been rooting for them from Day 1, had seen his best friend’s crush develop right in front of his eyes – and _Amy’s _crush as well – and had been over the moon when he’d learned the two had finally found their way to each other after all these years. He’d always been (and still is, to be honest) persuaded they were meant for each other, supposed to die together at an old, old age.

Not to break their romance up only a few months after they started dating, and surely not over reasons as stupid as _we don’t want to risk for things to fall apart._

_They _made things fall apart themselves by choosing to stay friends rather than fight for what they had and believe their love would be strong enough.

Which it would have been. Because they’re _soulmates _– Charles sensed it from the moment they met and still knows it’s true. Even more so now that they’re both single again. The hope that they’ll get back together (and _stay _together this time) is coursing strongly through his veins.

It has had since Jake told him about his breakup with Valerie.

As he goes to the kitchen in search of a sponge after spilling his drink on the floor during a game with Gina, he spots some light coming from outside the window. Intrigued, he looks out and a huge smile comes twitching up the corners of his mouth at the sight in front of him. There stand, in the cold, no other than Jake and Amy themselves, talking _alone_.

If he can’t see the woman’s face from where he is, he can still catch a glimpse of his best friend’s glowing features in the lights of the hot tub he’s currently sitting in.

Charles knows this look and smile painted on his face – it’s the look and smile of a man in love. The look and smile he used to wear on his face every day during the months he and Amy dated.

His heart misses a beat in his chest. He _knew _not everything was lost. He knew they’d find their way back to each other.

His own grin turns into a frown though when he sees Amy turn away from Jake and head toward the door – _alone_. He doesn’t follow her nor seems to stop her from leaving.

_No no no no no. This is not how it’s supposed to happen._

He was already picturing them coming back to the party room hand-in-hand, announcing to their friends that _we’re getting back together _before exchanging a knowing look and kiss while the whole squad would cheer them up. He can’t let them make the mistake of missing out on each other again. It’s his duty, as a friend (and future best man), to help them see _they belong together_.

(At least, that’s what his – very – inebriated self makes him believe.)

So, in that moment of urgency and without further thinking, he does the first thing that crosses his mind to prevent Amy from entering the house again: he locks the front door.

“Do you have the key?” He hears her pull down the knob as she tries to open the door – and obviously fails.

“Nope. Why? The door wasn’t closed when I came in.”

A victorious smile forms on Charles’ face as he stays hidden, bend down under the window. He’d lie if he’d say he doesn’t feel bad when he catches the anxiety in his colleague’s voice when she talks again but he keeps telling himself that he’s doing this for a good cause and she’ll thank him someday for trapping them and forcing them to deal with each other and their feelings.

The guilt washes off completely by the time he decides to look up again after Amy seems to have left the door’s side – he catches his two friends sitting together in the hot tub now and laughing.

He can’t hear what they’re saying but he doesn’t need that to tell they’re having a good time; to tell they’re definitely falling in love again.

His idea was for sure a good one.

“What are you doing?” A voice he immediately recognizes as Rosa’s forces Charles to look away. His friend is standing there with a beer in her hand and a suspicious frown on her face.

“I’m watching the greatest love story unveil in front of me,” he says, not the least disturbed by the way she stares at him.

“What?” she pouts. She takes a few uneven steps in his direction – she’s clearly just as drunk as he is.

(To be fair, this late at night, on such a gateway weekend, the _whole _squad is.)

“I locked Jake and Amy out to help them realize they belong together,” he explains himself.

Rosa rolls her eyes. “Sounds dumb.” Yet she bends down next to him and slightly pushes him to the side. “Move, I want in.”

Charles watches her with a slight smile before putting his full attention back on the ex-couple. They discreetly spy on them in complete silence.

“Ugh, they’re so boring. Nothing’s gonna happen,” his friend complains after a while of nothing more than the two seemingly talking together happening in front of their eyes.

Charles doesn’t have the time to answer anything because, as if on cue, Jake and Amy seem to close the small gap between them and… be about to _kiss _?! The loud squeal that escapes his mouth as the realization hits him is out before he can retain it, quickly followed by an even louder shout of pain when Rosa punches him in the side to make him shush. 

“Charles?” he hears his best friend call from outside as he sees him and Amy jerk away from one another before their lips can even do so much as brushing together.

_Dammit_, he can’t help but curse under his breath. They were _so close…_

“Don’t mind us and go back to kissing!” He tries to push them back to one another, hiding under the window. He doesn’t dare to look up as silence surrounds them again for a beat, until Amy comes banging at the door and threatens him to open up _right now_. Oblivious to the sad expression on her face as she passes by him, he hurries outside to ask Jake what happened – excited and hopeful.

He doesn’t waste any second and goes straight to the point when he reaches his side. “So, are you guys getting back together?!”

But the other man simply shoves him off. “Not now, Charles.” Then starts to go out of the hot tub.

The desperate look on his best friend’s face when he passes by him without another word is enough to sober Charles up. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all, he realizes.

_I’m my own worst enemy, _he can’t help but think as he stands outside, alone, for a little while.

* * *

Well-determined to make up for not minding his own business the previous night, Charles wakes up early on the next morning to cook some apology breakfast for Jake. He’s all alone in the kitchen at first but is quickly joined by his captain, who was out on a walk, then other members of their squad as he makes some of his most delicious pancakes – the kind that has chocolate chips in them.

By the time he’s done with his special tray full of Jake’s favorite foods for breakfast and a cup of hot chocolate, everyone but he and Amy have come downstairs. If it’s not really a surprise for anyone that the male detective would still be in bed past 10 am, it definitely is weird that the woman isn’t there with them. Nobody seems to question it, though, and Charles is truly grateful for that.

He’s pretty sure whatever reason keeps her in her room this late in the morning is his fault.

Everything is quiet around him as Charles leaves his friends with the extra pancakes he made for them and heads towards the bedrooms. He stops in his tracks in front of Amy’s, hesitant to knock on her door and apologize to her as well. He needs to – of course he knows he does, but he also knows that if she hasn’t shown up yet, it’s probably because she doesn’t want to see anyone for now.

So he walks past the room, deciding that he’ll deal with his best friend first. The hot chocolate he prepared for him will turn cold otherwise anyway.

Charles is surprised to hear voices coming from the other side of the door as he gets closer to Jake’s room. They’re muffled at first; he can’t recognize what they’re saying or even who’s talking – whether Jake’s on the phone or with an actual person. But then, as he reaches the end of the corridor, it all becomes clear. Jake is here, sure, but so is _Amy_.

Charles freezes at the sound they make.

He almost leaves, the memory of what his overhearing did the previous night still very vivid in his head. He won’t make the same mistake twice. But then he hears a laugh – Amy’s hearted laugh – bursting through the air and echoing outside the room, right to his ears. It makes him stop in his tracks again, a huge beam forming on his features while his heart fills with utter happiness.

Then, following the laugh, come some (magical, if you ask Charles) words. While being whispered, they still are clear as day – repeated several times in-between what sounds like small peppered kisses.

_“I love you.” _

It makes Charles smile even more; his heart misses a beat. Maybe he didn’t mess anything up after all.

Maybe he doesn’t have anything he needs to apologize for – on the contrary, maybe his friends are the ones who need to _thank _him now.

Not wanting to push his luck too far, though, he quietly starts moving away from the door to leave the couple alone – his job is done, after all. It seems that they _are _back together now. Unfortunately for him, a fork falls from his tray as he turns around with a little too much enthusiasm. Immediately the sounds from the other side of the door stop and he curses under his breath.

“Charles?!” Jake asks after a beat. Flashes of the previous night come rushing back to his mind.

“Sorry! I wanted to bring you breakfast as an apology for yesterday but… I didn’t know you had company.” Despite himself, a small grin comes curving up the sides of his mouth with his words. “I’m leaving the tray outside the door,” he then adds. But Charles’ good mood soon turns into worry when he’s met with nothing but silence for a while.

He worries that he broke their moment again. A new burst of laughter eventually rises through the air, though, and it’s all he needs to calm down a little.

“Thanks, buddy.” He hears Jake answer him in a cheerful voice.

Charles completely relaxes this time and starts leaving for good this time with a grin on his face. He hears the door opening before he’s out of the corridor, which makes him turn around. He meets his best friend’s eyes, who shoots him a big bright beam – brighter than he’s ever seen him smile since he and Amy broke up. “For everything,” he adds to his previous thanks with a knowing nod.

Charles only smiles back at him. _I knew it_, he can’t help but think as he walks away, utterly joyful that his friends found their way back to each other.

They deserve to be happy – and he’s known for a long time now that they’ve never been (and will never be) as happy as when they’re _together_.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always really appreciated!! You can also come and find me on Tumblr @b99peraltiago if you want :)


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